https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/cloudflare-outage-is-a-reminder-of-our-over-dependence-on-small-number-of-tech-giants The ownership of internet servers has become dangerously concentrated in the hands of a few hosting companies. Anything that takes one of them down causes a wide disaster.
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Gizmodo
AI-Powered Teddy Bear Caught Talking About Sexual Fetishes and Instructing Kids How to Find Knives
OpenAI blocked access for the toymaker following the incidents.
Who Does That Server Really Serve? - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation
 A teddy bear toy that provided a voice inerface to ChatGPT gave advice about sex and about finding knives. Clearly it did not think about the meaning and implications of its output for its likely audience. This reminds us that ChatGPT is not intelligent. The reaction to this by "Open" "AI"
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the Guardian
Dark forces are preventing us fighting the climate crisis – by taking knowledge hostage | George Monbiot
The fundamental problem is this: that most of the means of communication are owned or influenced by the very rich, says Guardian columnist George M...
the Guardian
Once a global leader on climate action, the EU has given in to the right’s green-bashing | Nathalie Tocci
From deforestation to emissions trading, vital policies are being watered down in the name of ‘competitiveness’, says Guardian Europe columnist...
the Guardian
Pushing airport expansion while rail travel languishes – so much for Labour’s green agenda | Polly Toynbee
The climate damage done by avoidable flying is huge, yet the government continues to see planes as the answer to its economic woes, says Guardian c...
 George Monbiot: *Dark forces are preventing us fighting the climate crisis – by taking knowledge hostage.* *Once a global leader on climate action, the EU has given in to the right’s
the Guardian
Israel breaching international law by limiting Gaza aid, says Unrwa official
Natalie Boucly says supplies are ready but only about half of what is needed is getting into territory
 *Israel is breaching international law by continuing to impose restrictions on aid flows into Gaza, where the population remains critically short of food and life-saving goods as winter sets in,* according to UNRWA.
the Guardian
Icelandic is in danger of dying out because of AI and English-language media, says former PM
Katrín Jakobsdóttir and her co-author want the 350,000 people who speak the language to fight for its future
 A warning that Icelandic could be forgotten and lost in just one generation, because the unwise tendency to use bullshit generators is leading Icelanders to read English instead.
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Patrick Breyer
CHAT CONTROL 2.0 THROUGH THE BACK DOOR – Breyer warns: "The EU is playing us for fools – now they’re scanning our texts and banning teens!" [updated]
Just before a decisive meeting in Brussels, digital rights expert and former Member of the European Parliament Dr. Patrick Breyer is sounding the a...
Free Software Is Even More Important Now - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation
 Various countries blocked the EU's Orwellian "chat control" proposal, so they have redrawn the proposed legislation to achieve similar pervasive surveillance with changes in the details. For instance, companies offering email or messaging accounts would
Demand Progress
Investigate ICE prisons and end Trump’s violent ICE raids
As Trump escalates his authoritarian law-breaking, it’s time for Congress to take a stand and protect immigrants.
Glossary
 US citizens: call on Congress to investigate the deportation prisons and end the deportation thugs' violent raids. Main Switchboard: +1-202-224-3121 If you sign or phone, please spread the word!
Free-Range Kids
Bored Kid, 12, Gets Tons of Friends to Play Outside - Free-Range Kids
Surely you’ve heard someone (perhaps yourself) say: “I’d love my kids to play outside but there’s no one there for them to play with!” An...
 An enterprising child distributed a flier in his neighborhood urging other kids to join him at a specific place and time for outdoor play. It was a success, and started regular meetings for play.
the Guardian
‘There is no money’: As carbon markets collapse, what happens to the forests they promised to protect?
After it was found most offsets did not represent real carbon reductions, the money dried up. But successful schemes such as Kasigau in Kenya now f...
 When the bogus "carbon offsets" were unmasked and businesses stopped buying them, a few projects that were keeping some substantial forests alive were also defunded.
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The Intercept
Trump’s Federal Cops Just Gave Themselves Expansive Anti-Protest Powers Targeting Masks
The Trump administration’s new rules grant the Federal Protective Service cops powers to target masks and make arrests off federal property.
Glossary
 A new regulation gave the Federal Protective Service the power to arrest people outside of federal government facilities. I have a feeling it was established to protect against attacks launched by enemies of the US, such as the riot that the bully had launched on 6 Jan 2021. Of course, he now claims that that violent attack was not violent at all, and has pardoned